Deputies had been called on a report of a man acting erratically in the 5500 block of Adenmoor Avenue that morning.

At the time they said they found Berry in a vehicle and during their attempts to talk to him, he accelerated and hit a patrol car.

At one point as the encounter continued, deputies believed he was in danger of striking another deputy with his car and they say they fired at him, hitting him in the upper body and killing him.

His family disputed their account of the shooting, arguing that the deputy was not in danger during the incident. They said they had called the Sheriff's Department simply in the hope they would take Berry to a psychiatric hospital.